About Region - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Fondly referred to as KL, Kuala Lumpur is the capital city which began life as a mining settlement in the late 1800s. It is now home to the world's tallest twin towers and other skyscrapers, and is not only the commercial hub of the country, but also the cultural centre, with a vibrant arts and music scene. It has parks, museums and galleries and plays host to major sporting and cultural events. Together with old colonial buildings there are enclaves that cling stubbornly to the past, bringing to life the major cultures of Malaysia. Visitors may wander through a Malay kampung, visit a Hindu temple, or go shopping in Chinatown, in trendy malls, or street markets. KL is completely cosmopolitan and its many restaurants, hotels and market stalls satisfy every culinary taste.

Petronas Twin Towers

Currently the world's tallest freestanding towers, the 88-storey towers soar to a dizzying height of 452m above the city skyline. This gleaming architectural delight inspired by the Five Pillars of Islam is the centrepiece of the ultra-modern Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Within the towers is the Petronas Philharmonic Hall, home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Petronas Performing Arts Group.

Taman Tasik Perdana

Built in the 1880s, KL Lake Gardens is the city's most popular and accessible park. It covers an area of 91.6 hectares and has a children's playground, jogging tracks, exercise stations and a lake with rowing boats. The Panggung Anniversari, set in a valley within the part, is the venue for regular musical and cultural performances.

Orchid and Hibiscus Gardens - Also located in Taman Tasik Perdana, the Orchid Garden has over 800 species of exotic Malaysian orchids, including some rare ones. Close by is the Hibiscus Garden with more that 500 varieties of the papery blossoms in a riot of shades and colours.

Bird Park - This is situated opposite the Orchid Garden and many species of birds from around the world are housed here under one huge net. The Sarawak Hornbill, some rare jungle fowl and birds of prey can be viewed in an environment that has been created to resemble their natural habitat.

Butterfly Park - This park is close by and features some 6,000 beautiful butterflies from about 120 species.

Deer Park - This occupies a hill slope leading down into a valley where tame deer roam freely, including the tiny kancil. Visitors may mingle with these friendly and adorable creatures and it is a wonderful place to take children.

Taman Botani Botanical Garden

This is the biggest botanical garden in Malaysia and extends over 92 hectares. It contains a vast number of trees and plants, and is divided into three sections flowers, ornamental plants and reservation/research and houses some 700 species of local plants as well as those from the African and Asia-Pacific regions.

The National Theatre

Permanent home of the National Theatre Company and the National Symphony Orchestra, the National Theatre is responsible for the development of all forms of theatrical art in Malaysia. Designed as a functional building which not only reflects the beauty of form, the Theatre is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment while still retaining the national heritage and traditional Malay design. Drama, dance and musical performances are held regularly.

National Science Centre

The Centre stands on a small hill in Bukit Kiara on the outskirts of KL. The building is designed in the shape of a truncated cone and the whole structure is covered with a huge geodesic dome. It is equipped with an Intelligent Building Automation System and its exhibition gallery occupies two floors. It also has a multimedia library, lecture theatre, multi-purpose hall and cafeteria.

Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman

The Heritage of Malaysia Trust is located in a mock Tudor building dating from 1925. In the garden is a bamboo hut built by Orang Asli of the Temiar community and a restored Malay timber house known as the Rumah Penghulu. This was formerly the residence of a local headman in Kedah. It is beautifully decorated throughout with intricate carvings and has been furnished to reflect a house in the early thirties, with some wedding accoutrements. The centre hosts regular exhibitions with a heritage theme and has a gift shop and reference library. A guided tour and viewing of a video documentary on the restoration is available.

Taman Wetland

This is the largest man-made freshwater wetland in the tropics and the first of its kind in Malaysia. The area contains Wetland Park, and there are 24 wetland cells comprising swamp forests and open water areas such as ponds and lakes. Several species of local marshland flora and fauna can be found here, with water birds including flamingos, egrets, herons and bitterns.Wetland Park houses a Nature Interpretation Centre, an 80-metre high lookout tower, which offers a bird's eye-view of Putrajaya, two nature trails, a wetland plant nursery, a flamingo pond, picnic areas and other public amenities.

Kuala Lumpur Tower

Officially opened in 1996 this imposing 421m concrete telecommunications tower is reputed to be the highest in Asia, and the fourth highest in the world. Visitors can enjoy a bird's eye view of the Federal Territory and the Klang Valley from its observation deck, or the revolving restaurant. The tower is a transmission station for telecommunications networks, radio and television.

Parks in KL

Taman Tasik Titiwangsa - This park is located in the north-eastern fringe of the city in the vicinity of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital. A large lake forms the main attraction of this popular recreational spot. There are facilities for water sports, jogging, tennis, exercise areas and a children's playground. A floating restaurant by the lake's edge offers delightful local cuisine.

Taman Tasik Permaisuri - Another 'green lung' in KL, this park is located at Bandar Tun Razak, a satellite town south of the city. Opened in 1989, the park comprises a man-made lake with ornamental fountains, a seven-tiered flower terrace called Laman Puteri, a traditional royal Malay Garden filled with a colourful variety of tropical blooms, and a herb garden with aromatic Malaysian herbs.

Central Market

This pre-war building was the principal wet market for KL in the early years. It was extensively renovated in the 1980s and turned into an arts and cultural centre. It has become the place for local artists to demonstrate their skills and display their work. There are numerous shops and stalls which sell bric-a-brac, antiques, souvenirs, handicrafts and Asian artefacts. An open-air stage serves as the regular venue for traditional and contemporary dance as well as musical concerts.

National Art Gallery

Located on a 5.6-acre site at Jalan Temerloh, The National Art Gallery is flanked by the National Theatre and the National Library. Built with aesthetics and functionality in mind, the art gallery creates a space for preservation, development, exploration and experiment in the various facets of art in Malaysia. There are a number of galleries housing various permanent and temporary exhibitions. Amenities available include a creative centre, a sculpture garden, a photography and graphics studio, an auditorium, a library, a restoration space, a bookshop and a café.

National Museum

Located on the fringe of Taman Tasik Perdana (the KL Lake Gardens) this palatial building was designed along the lines of classical Malay architecture and is the principal museum in the country. Its imposing entrance opens into an impressive collection of exhibits on local history, culture and customs, art and handicraft, weapons and currencies. There are also exhibits on economic activities like rubber planting and tin mining and some samples of Malaysia's flora and fauna. Outdoor static displays include old locomotives, vintage cars and replicas of ancient Malay Palaces.

Tun Abdul Razak Memorial

This was once the official residence of Malaysia's second Prime Minister, who was popularly known as The Father of Development. The memorial houses a vast collection of his personal and official memorabilia during his tenure as Prime Minister from 1970-1976.

National Monument

The monument was constructed in 1966 to honour the country's fallen heroes, and designed by the famous sculptor, Felix de Weldon, who also designed the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington. The 15.54m high bronze monument depicts seven solders, symbolising the seven qualities of leadership. Nearby is the beautiful landscaped ASEAN Sculpture Garden, which has a collection of prize-winning sculptures by artists from the ASEAN region.

Galeria Sri Perdana

This was the official residence of Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his family from 1983 until 1999. The residence is now a heritage building managed by the National Archives in recognition of his 22 years of dedicated service to the country. There are three exhibition levels of the residence from which can be viewed the principal rooms, such as the ante-lounge, main lounge, banquet hall, banquet kitchen and theatre. Other interesting areas include the balcony with a fine view of the city skyline, and a woodwork room where the Prime Minister indulged in his favourite pastime of making woodcraft.

Putrajaya, Garden City

Putrajaya lies just outside the city of KL, bordering on Malaysia's Silicon Valley of Cyberjaya, and was designed as an intelligent Cyber-city for the new Federal government administrative centre. It is a thoroughly modern township displaying the best of Malaysian design and architecture in an environmentally friendly setting of beautifully landscaped lakes and parks. Thirty-eight percent of the land area is devoted to the provision of parks, lakes and wetlands, the latter providing interesting opportunities to learn about the country's diversified tropical flora and fauna. The prime areas of the City are divided into precincts and are devoted to government offices, commercial, residential and recreational facilities.There are 12 parks within the City for a taste of nature and adventure. The principal Park, Taman Putra Perdana, is located at the highest point in Precinct 1 and provides a panoramic view of Putrajaya. Other parks include Taman Wawasan, Taman Rimba Desa, Taman Rimba Hijau and Taman Saujana Hijau.

Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Probably Kuala Lumpur's most photographed building, designed by British architect A C Norman, it was built between 1894 and 1897 and was formerly the secretariat building for the British administration. It is a beautiful blend of Victorian and Moorish architecture and is now the venue of the Supreme Court and the High Court. Next to this building is a similar Moorish-styled building, housing the former City Hall.

St Mary's Cathedral

This stately building was also designed by A C Norman and is another beautiful piece of work. This vintage Anglican church has a fine, rare pipe organ built by renowned 19th century British organ-builder, Henry Willis.

Merdeka Square

Independence Square (also known as the Padang) has a black marble plaque marking the spot where the Union Jack was lowered for the last time at midnight on 30 August 1957 and the Malayan flag hoisted in its place. The national flag today flies on the tallest flagpole in the world, standing at 100m. This was formerly the ground used for cricket, hockey, tennis and rugby matches played by the colonialists, fronting the famous mock-Tudor building of the Selangor Club, which is only open to members.

Masjid Jamek

This architecturally ambitious mosque is Indian Muslim in style with its onion-shaped cupolas, numerous arched colonnades, minarets and balustrades. It was built in 1909 in distinctive stripes of red and white brick, on land close to the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers.

Malaysian Tourism Centre

The centre is located in one of Kuala Lumpur's important historical and architectural landmarks. The main building was built in 1935 as the residence of Eu Tong Seng, a wealthy miner and planter. It subsequently served as the war office of the British Army, the headquarters of the Japanese Army, the venue for the first sitting of the Malaysian Parliament and also saw the installation ceremonies of several kings of the country.

National Planetarium

This is situated on a hill within the Lake Gardens, just behind the National Mosque. Galleries within the complex include the Space Theatre, Space Science Exhibition, Resource Centre, Viewing Gallery and Ancient Observatory Park. The Space Theatre screens two shows The Space Science Show and Sky Movie. There is also an observatory equipped with a 14-inch telescope.

Bintang Walk

Located in the city's Golden Triangle, this Walk is the premier spot in Kuala Lumpur for dining out, shopping and entertainment. The area contains several shopping mall, hotels, restaurants and coffee houses that offer al fresco dining on fine evenings. For those seeking some night-time entertainment there is a string of discotheques, karaoke and pubs along the stretch.

National Mosque

Close to the Railway Station is the National Mosque, which is built along modern lines with elements of contemporary Islamic art, calligraphy and ornamentation. Its most striking feature is the multiple-fold umbrella-like roof and a 245ft minaret, which symbolises the aspirations of an 18-point star. This represents the 13 states and the five pillars of Islam and forty-eight smaller domes cover the courtyard. The mosque can accommodate eight thousand people. As with all the mosques and other religious buildings, visitors must observe the ritual of removing shoes and being properly attired.

Istana Negara

The official residence of His Majesty, the Yang di Pertuan Agong, the King of Malaysia, is located on a hillock at Jalan Istana. Immaculate lawns cover the extensive grounds and formal gardens blaze with colourful flowers and plants. The Palace is also the venue for official functions and ceremonies.

National Sports Complex

Situated on a 200-acre site in Bukit Jalil the Complex is the venue for sports and other functions. It houses the National Stadium, National Aquatic Centre, National Hockey Stadium and National Squash Centre. Traditional carvings adorn the main entrance of the National Stadium, which was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field events during the Kuala Lumpur 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games.

Taman Warisan Pertanian

This garden showcases the agricultural development of traditional Malaysian crops such as rubber, cocoa, palm oil, fruits, herbs and spices. The processes of growing the plants from seeds to maintaining and processing them into finished edible or non-edible products are exhibited here. Agriculture-related activities such as latex collection and its coagulation before being rolled into rubber sheets can be observed, along with crop maintenance, fruit preservation, and many other activities.

Dataran Putra

The 300-metre circular Dataran Putra is adorned with light and water features and is shaped like an 11-point star representing the 11 states of Malaysia. The highlight is the Chahar Baghs or recreation of Eden with four quadrants and four rivers. Serving as a transition between the parks and the ceremonial area the Chahar Baghs is a carefully arranged interplay of paths, water channels, flowerbeds and trees.

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